Review by Subhash K. Jha
Film: "Mere Baap Pehle Aap"; Cast: Paresh Rawal, Akshaye Khanna, Shobana, Genelia d'Souza, Om Puri; Director: Priyadarshan; Rating: **
At last a Priyadarshan comedy that warms the cockles of the heart even as it makes you cackle in glee.
"Mere Baap Pehle Aap" is a deftly-scripted piece of quirky and cryptic concoction on role reversal. And if you take away all the humbug and fringe characters, at the core of this cool comedy is a father-son relationship where the father is often caught behaving like a truant child.
Paresh Rawal's guilt-stricken expressions and Akshaye Khanna's finger-wagging exasperation are simply superb. Hats off to Manisha Korde's wildly witty words that colonize the characters' comic world.
Breathe easy. There are no risqué or double-meaning jokes and no vulgar shots of women. Priyadarshan's film is clean and clever in parts and makes you forgive all the excesses of his recent films like "Bhool Bhulaiya" and "Malaamal Weekly" where the characters were constantly in a state of distress.
In "Mere Baap..." we see some restraint and subtlety in the narration and the locales are exquisite and refreshing. Sabu Cyril's art work suggests an endearing link between our cultural heritage and the rituals of laughter. The Kerala sequences are adorably quaint.
Throughout the story of a father and son finding marital bliss at about the same time, we are caught in spaces that are filled but not overbrimming. Like his earlier films, Priyadarshan's people this time go from laughter to a social message with a virile fluency.
Does a middle-aged man have the right to seek a companion when he has a child of marriageable age?
Paresh is at the receiving end of social taboos. After wasting himself in not-so-good comedies in recent times, Paresh comes into his own here as the surly, child-like dad who keeps getting into embarrassing positions for no fault of his.
If Paresh sparkles, it's because he has a screen son who shines with immense confidence. Akshaye's comic timing and his little nuances and gestures bring forceful humour to a film that may otherwise have ended up looking a little limp and unmoored.
The rest of the cast, barring the brazenly over-pitched Genelia, give winsome comic performances. It's a surprise to see the beautiful Shobana show up as the spinster that widower Paresh wants to marry.
The wedding song and dance are almost exquisite. This touch of the quasi-classical, also seen in the closing interlude of "Bhool Bhulaiya", gives the comedy a touch of refreshing grace.
Interestingly, Mohan Joshi, who's a regular in Priyadarshan films, gives a completely non-comic performance here. And Archana Puransingh, as a brassy lady cop, once again displays a penchant for parody.
Om Puri as a leery, ageing bachelor is appropriately grotesque. But one can't tell whether it's the character or the performance that makes one squirm.
The film works mainly because Paresh and Akshaye look so delightfully compatible as a father and son who have lived so closely together that they don't know which is which.
Another asset is Ranjit Barot's background music, which is surprisingly tender and strong in fits and starts.

 

Gee, what a pair! Ranbir Kapoor of 'Saawariya' fame is set to star opposite two-time National Award winning Konkona Sen Sharma in a film that will be directed by Kajol's cousin.
To be produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Production, the film is Ayaan Mukherjee's directorial debut. He has assisted Ashutosh Gowariker in 'Swades' and Karan Johar in 'Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'.
'It wasn't so much because Ayaan was Karan's pal Kajol's cousin. Ayaan's script more than anything else clinched the deal. The minute Karan read it he fell in love with it,' a source told reporters.
But isn't the coming together of Ranbir and Konkona the synthesis of Venus and Mars?
'That's exactly the point. In this Mumbai-based romance about urban relationships, the director needed a pair that seemed incompatible. The film is about seeking a level of compatibility in a world gone distinctly out of control.'
Apparently, when Ranbir and Konkona heard the script, they liked it immediately. Now all they have to do is fall in love with one another on screen.

 

Actor Deepika Padukone is busy shooting in London for Saif's first production venture directed by Imtiaz Ali. Now what's so special about this one? Deepika, in this film, will share screen space with boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor's father and evergreen actor Rishi Kapoor!
So, lets not be surprised if Dippy is all well behaved on the sets. Nah, but that she usually is. Anyway, a little about her love life... The girl was in Bangkok for the IIFA Awards. She was there for just a day to catch up with beau Ranbir, who is currently shooting in another part of the world.
The lovebirds united in Bangkok, we're told, and did a lot of catching up. "They both came for the awards, but more than anything else, they came there to meet each other and spend time together. Since both are busy with their respective schedules and living in different time zones, this union they felt is essential," says a common friend of the actors'.
But the day passed too quickly, and each of them have now returned to their respective sets. And you thought an actor's life was easy?

 

Bollywood couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have purchased a home in Dubai , UAE. The couple have purchased villa in the double gated community called Sanctuary Falls and recently also attented a resident party held at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.

 

This may not really be a break up of the century but the fact remains that one of the most high profile 'Celebrity-PR' couple has broken up professionally.
We are talking about Shilpa Shetty and her PR guide Dale Bhagwagar who were quite thick during the years gone by but have now gone apart. However, it hasn't been a 'painful break up' per se as the two have split rather amicably.
Confirms Dale who has constantly been in news especially since the days of BIG BROTHER early last year, "Yes, Shilpa and I have parted ways. She is a wonderful person and I thoroughly enjoyed doing her PR. But we'd reached a stage, when we felt it was time to move on. Shilpa and I have been a great team and I wish her loads of success in future too."
But why the split? After all Dale has been a pillar of support for Shilpa during her good as well as bad times and has guarded her interests with the precision of a hawk's eye!
It is difficult to believe that after being involved with her in the most hectic of times (last one year saw Shilpa signing dozens of endorsements, globe trotting for social causes, giving hazaar interviews and being practically on her toes 24X7), he and one of Bollywood's most recognized celebrity internationally could call it a day without any warning signals!
Laughs Dale, "The parting wasn't sudden for us. We both saw it coming since two and a half months now and though it is coming as a shocker for a few, we ourselves are pretty much adjusted to the fact."
Dale gets into a philosophizing mode here, "Life can be summed up in 3 words... IT MOVES ON. I am trying my best not to think of the parting. I would rather think of the great times we shared and the great work we did while the good times lasted. I am looking forward to more good times with newer clients now."
Currently, some of the major clients of Dale include Hrithik Roshan, Vivek Oberoi, Randeep Hooda, Excel Entertainment and Hollywood producer Ashok Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment. He also manages the media for films of Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's production company Excel Entertainment.
Meanwhile Shilpa recently saw her YOGA DVDs seeing a release in India. She would also be starring opposite Sunny Deol in action entertainer home production THE MAN and will be seen in an item number for Karan Johar production DOSTANA starring Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Bobby Deol.

 

While shooting Singh Is Kinng in Australia, Akshay Kumar ensured that the pagdi was wrapped around his head correctly to avoid hurting religious sentiments. So much so that he actually approached the head of the Sikh community in Melbourne to help him with his turban
Producer Vipul Shah even got the heads of prominent Gurudwaras of Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide to visit the film sets and advice Akshay on the manner in which they tie the pagdi.
It is also believed that a special screening of the rough cut of Singh Is Kinng was held in Mumbai for prominent members of the Sikh community, like Dr Gurbachan Singh from the University of Mumbai, S. Kulwant Singh from Sri Guru Singh Sabha, S. Parbinder Singh from Sikh Brotherhood and Swaranjeet Singh from Sikh Media Watch, who approved the film and gave it a green signal.